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TC Electronics Spectradrive.


dave_bass5

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32 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Well I'm just starting out on that front, so I look forward to picking your brains on the subject. Particularly in relation to getting good sound recording...

Anytime, although my video experience is quite limited. 

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47 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Definitely wouldn’t replace my whole pedalboard but it would be a strong addition to it, end of my chain. I may just keep my spectracomp at the beginning of my chain too!

I’m thinking it’ll replace my MXR Bass Preamp and possibly my Pork Loin too. The potential is strong with this one...

Well my Aftershock has nailed the coffin shut on my Pork Loin. I cant imagine I’d give up using the  Q/strip on my board, but when have any of us kept soemthing that works for too long. 

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Tidy looking wee unit. I’ve played the BH amps in a local rehearsal room and enjoyed them - pretty straight forward. Looks like this feature set has been well researched.. look forward to trying one when they’re released. 

Edited by krispn
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1 minute ago, dave_bass5 said:

... but when have any of us kept something that works for too long

Haha - my Markbass  500W AC Combo has survived the slings and arrows of various barbed comments from bass chat buddies. But then it's just possibly the best gigging combo on the planet :) 

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3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Haha - my Markbass  500W AC Combo has survived the slings and arrows of various barbed comments from bass chat buddies. But then it's just possibly the best gigging combo on the planet :) 

Must admit ive had my Markbass F1 head for as long as I can remember. Although this have a GK MB800 as well its the F1 that gets used. 

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9 minutes ago, milesBguitar said:

So it's a 3leaf enabler with a compressor and drive all in one.

I’m guessing from looking at the toneprints that they are both drive and compressor in one patch rather than beaming a compressor print and a separate drive one. 

 

The ones currently up on the TC website seem to be for the Spectracomp side of the unit only, so maybe we'll be able to mix and match them with tone prints for the drive section too? 

https://www.tcelectronic.com/de/sentry-noise-gate/toneprints/toneprints/p/P0D9D

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From the manual

’Note that this pedal does not support custom TonePrint creation via the editor software. However, we have provided plenty of meticulously-crafted TonePrints for both TubeDrive and SpectraComp to ensure that you’ll be able to get the sound you’re looking for.

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29 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

From the manual

’Note that this pedal does not support custom TonePrint creation via the editor software. However, we have provided plenty of meticulously-crafted TonePrints for both TubeDrive and SpectraComp to ensure that you’ll be able to get the sound you’re looking for.

Hmmm...that takes the shine off this a little? 

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Seeing as I don’t use the tone editor it’s not a big deal for me. As long as I can get my fav Spectracomp settings beamed to it that’s all I’ll need. I’m sure the OD part is good but I’ll be using my AO for that side of things anyway. 

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23 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Seeing as I don’t use the tone editor it’s not a big deal for me. As long as I can get my fav Spectracomp settings beamed to it that’s all I’ll need. I’m sure the OD part is good but I’ll be using my AO SA Aftershock for that side of things anyway. 

Careful...you'll have Dannybuoy on your case :D

9 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I’m cool with it being TonePrint-only. I’ve owned more TC pedals than I care to count and not once have I been bothered to make a TonePrint from scratch with the editor. We’ll live!

Yeh, but the software editor would have been a very nice addition and is all part of the fun with TC pedals, right? 

For me this is going to be a lot LESS capable than my Zoom B3n with patches I can individually tailor and with the whole spectrum of effects not just drive and compression. The Spectradrive is likely to cost as much if not more than the Zoom. It's one real advantage is as a compact headphone amp with a reasonable EQ, but actually if I want quality / small then the PJ Bighead is available for that (and I'm not sure how important the EQ is when using headphones anyway?)

For those interested, the EQ on the TC Spectradrive:  BASS upto -24 dB at 50 Hz, or boosts up to 24 dB at 80 Hz.  LO MID upto -12 dB at 200 Hz, or boosts up to 12 dB at 160 Hz. HI MID upto -18 dB at 630 Hz, or boosts up to 18 dB at 800 Hz. TREBLE upto -24 dB at 1.8kHz, or boosts up to 24 dB at 2.8k Hz. 

The bass, low and high-mids look decently centred, however the treble is set quite low: I'd personally have preferred the boost and cut freq to be the other way around. But as Cam said, I'm sure we'll live! :) 

Also make sure you have enough spare juice in your PSU tank if you're using a pedalboard single supply, this baby will drink > 250mA.

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54 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Seeing as I don’t use the tone editor it’s not a big deal for me. As long as I can get my fav Spectracomp settings beamed to it that’s all I’ll need. 

 

39 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I’m cool with it being TonePrint-only. I’ve owned more TC pedals than I care to count and not once have I been bothered to make a TonePrint from scratch with the editor. We’ll live!

Yes absolutely, there's loads of mileage to be had from just the TonePrints alone without having to go anywhere near the software editor. My only experience of TonePrint pedals is limited to the SpectraComp and Corona chorus, but there is just about every sound you're realistically ever likely to need already available from the free downloadable TonePrints. If you want something specific and esoteric you'll need to software editor but for most people it is far from essential. 

 

8 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

For me this is going to be a lot LESS capable than my Zoom B3n with patches I can individually tailor and with the whole spectrum of effects not just drive and compression. The Spectradrive is likely to cost as much if not more than the Zoom. It's one real advantage is as a compact headphone amp with a reasonable EQ, but actually if I want quality / small then the PJ Bighead is available for that (and I'm not sure how important the EQ is when using headphones anyway?)

Although to be fair, this isn't a multi-fx unit, nor is it being marketed as such ;)

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I too only have the Spectracomp and Cornoa, and i can see no reason (for me) to ever need to go in to the editor. Its not practical to use it at gigs etc

Although its not a match for the B3n as far as patches and FX etc go, my way of using the B3n is to just have it set up with a fairly generic Amp/cab patch, and use my pedal board to supply the tone shaping, alnog with mixing in music or YT from my ipad. Ive always wanted a BDDI type of unit to do this, but without all the extra stuff i dont need. This new TC box seems ideal. I know it wont do proper amp sims, but to be honest a lot of the time i use the B3n in bypass mode anyway, especially when i was using a pedal that did amp sim like the BDDI or VTBass.

So, in my case, it seems perfect for my use, and it does seem to tick enough boxes to go on my board at some point. Ive been thinking of using the AS as an always on, so could maybe use the OD in the Spectradrive as an on/off boost, plus replace my Spectracomp, all without adding yet another box to the board.

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The Zoom Bn3 is a different pedal designed to do a different set of tasks. Preferring one to the other is fine but comparing one to the other is a bit of a non contest. A lot of gigging bassists only need a bit of comp and a bit of grunt/grit - a couple of useable tones. For those guys the features are pretty solid. I didn’t really need one as I have all the features covered but I’d like to try one on a gig for fun. 

Hey TV Electronic send one and I’ll roadtest it for ya. Thanks bye!

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Agreed re the B3N

But if you've got a comp and a dirt pedal already and you're happy with those; this is not going to add nothing much for live use. If you need a headphone amp for home use then there are cheaper / better alternatives. If you are currently lacking two or all three of these then this is a very interesting proposition.

Edited by Al Krow
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5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Agreed re the B3N

But if you've got a comp and a dirt pedal already and you're happy with those; this is not going to add nothing much for live use. If you need a headphone amp for home use then there are cheaper / better alternatives. If you are currently lacking two or all three of these then this is a very interesting proposition.

I dont need just a headphone amp, i need something like the B3n but smaller, and it can have less features (because i dont use them). If i dont fancy getting the pedal board out ill still have comp and dirt within one box, EQ thats designed for bass, plus speaker sim on the headphone out.

For live use, i had planned on turning the AS on and off for clean/dirt, but ive fond i like it so much as a warming effect i may keep it on all the time. Therefore, id need another dirt pedal. With limited space i can take the Spectracomp off the board, and replace it with the Spectradrive. Id get to keep the same comp settings, and and a switchable dirt pedal.....in theory. It also means i have more EQ options on the board, and more importantly with real knobs and not software based.

But it is more for home use, and mainly to use without my pedal board. Sometimes its a pain getting that out, as it means more wires across the floor, but i have been doing it more and more because of what son the board. I find the Spectra comp just seems ot work better for me than the ones in the B3n.

Its definitely a GAS attack, but one that i can genuinely see a use for.

By the way, TC have said it will be available next month, so not a long wait.

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